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[PREVIEW] HARD Summer Festival

HARD Summer at the LA State Historic Park in Downtown Los Angeles is right around the corner, and with 2 days, 4 stages and one of the biggest, most diverse lineups HARD has ever put together, it’s safe to say that this year’s festival may be the best HARD production (on land) to date.

Have a look at my personal Top 5 Picks of each day as well as 4 installments of the Hard Summer Mixtape series after the jump!

FRIDAY, AUGUST 3RD1. Boys Noize — HARD Stage — 12:50-1:50AMHARD Summer is never complete without a massive closing set from Alex Ridha. With an album coming out this October, we can be sure to expect a brand new set with a plethora of new material.
2. Bloc Party — HARD Stage — 11:30-12:30AMIt’s been a while since these guys have toured in the US together, but after a 2-year hiatus, the guys are back with a new album, Four, and will be putting together an amazing hour-long, live mainstage set just before Boys Noize.
3. Bootsy Collins & The Funk Unity Band — Discotheque Stage — 12:20-1:50AMBootsy is an absolute legend and I have to give it up to Gary Richards for making this booking happen this year. If you can get away from Erol, A-Trak, Joey Beltram, and Boys Noize (difficult I know!) I highly suggest heading over to the Discotheque stage to catch a bit of the hour and a half set.
4. Light Year — Discotheque Stage — 7:35-8:30PMOur buddy from Australia never disappoints. Eva.
5. BAIO — Discotheque Stage — 5:55-6:40PMI’m very interested in catching BAIO’s set as I have yet to see his new side project in action. Stepping away from Vampire Weekend, BAIO’s solo project has put out some excellent summertime, tropical jams that I’m excited to catch while the sun is out.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 4TH
1. Claude VonStroke — Discotheque Stage — 11:20-12:20AMEvery time I see the alpha dirtybird play a festival set it gets better and better. I’m hoping he can outdo his set from this year’s Movement in Detroit next weekend.
2. Squarepusher — HARD Stage — 8:00-9:00PMWatch this shit.
3. Skrillex — HARD Stage — 12:40-1:50AMAlthough I personally stay more toward the House/Techno side of things at festivals, after hearing Skrillex’s latest remix of Birdy Nam Nam which showed more of a DnB side of his production, I’m interested in catching a possible new-sounding set from the phenom, as well as his always top-notch stage production.
4. Justin Martin — Discotheque Stage — 9:20-10:20PMJustin Martin still has the best album of 2012 so far in my mind, and any set from this mighty dirtybird will always be a must-see on my list.
5. James Murphy — Discotheque Stage — 12:20-1:50AMAbsolute legend. Last year he played straight vinyl with Pat Mahoney and I wouldn’t rule it out this year.